INTRODUCTION TO THE GMAT
About GMAT The GMAT (The Graduate Management Admission Test) is adopted by well over 6,500 graduate management programs awarding MBA, PHD, or MA degrees and is also one of the most important factors for admissions to these programs. The GMAT is divided into 4 parts: Analytical Writing of Assessment (AWA), Integrated Reasoning (IR), Quantitative (Math), and Verbal. The exam tests the student’s higher-order reasoning skills, such as complex judgments, critical thinking, analyzing, and problem solving skills. Sections of the GMAT: The GMAT is composed of 4 sections.
Students may choose the order of sections of the exam. It can be Math>Verbal>AWA&IR, Verbal>Math>AWA&IR, AWA&IR>Math>Verbal, or any order of students' choosing. AWA & IR must be taken together and math and verbal can be taken separately as a section. 1. AWA (30 minutes): AWA is composed of one essay type argument question. Students need to type in their response directly to the computer. 6 is the perfect score. 2. IR (30 minutes): IR is composed of 12 different format logic based questions. A calculator is allowed. 8 is the perfect score. 3. Quantitative (62 minutes): Quant (Math) is composed of 31 questions. These questions can be further categorized as PS questions and DS questions. These question types appear randomly. A calculator is not allowed. Students are given pencils and blank sheets of paper. 400 is the perfect score. 4. Verbal: (65 minutes) Verbal is composed of 36 questions. These questions can be further categorized as Reading Comprehension, Sentence Correction, and Critical Reasoning. These questions appear randomly. Pencils are provided. 400 is the perfect score. (NOTE) There is an 8 minute break during the exam. Make sure not to exceed this given time. If you are late, the amount of the given exam time is decreased as much. How to register for the GMAT 1. Go to www.mba.com search for available time and location. You can actually register through this site. 2. You can download a free application for 2 sets of sample tests from this site. It is a very good idea to work on these tests right before the exam. 3. You can also purchase 4 more sets of tests from this site. All these tests are CAT (Computerized Adaptive Test)-based. 4. I recommend students to take the exam after spending at least 2 months preparing. If you score above 30 on verbal, it's okay to register for another exam within a month. If you score below 25, wait at least 2 months before signing up for another exam. 5. The difficulty level of the sample prep tests is about the same as or more difficult than the actual GMAT exams. 6. If you score about 45 on math about 35 on verbal on the PREP, you could get a score above 700 on the real exam. If you already scored 45 or above on the PREP, after studying my Variable Approach and IVY Approach, you could score above 49. 7. There are no penalties for taking exams several times. During admission processes, many MBA, MA, and PhD programs only look at the most recent 3 exams and choose the best score. Some schools might claim that taking exams several times would be disadvantageous to students. 8. Internationally, all GMAT problems are CAT-based and originated from the same test bank regardless of where you take your exam. 9. Students with different nationalities may not be allowed to take the exam in certain regions or countries. This means that your score might not be validated if you take the exam in certain regions. Make sure to check where you are allowed to take the exam before registration. Characteristics of the GMAT 1. The GMAT covers up to 10th grade high school level math. Therefore, trigonometry, calculus, logarithm, and imaginary numbers are NOT within the boundary of the exam. 2. The GMAT is a computerized exam. The GMAT does not test students on business knowledge, English vocabulary, or computer skills. It tests students on reasoning skills. 3. The perfect score for the GMAT is 800. However, in practice, if you score above 760, this translates into the total percentage of 99%, which is practically the perfect score for the GMAT. 4. There are dummy questions on the GMAT. About 6 to 10 dummy questions appear on the GMAT. Students cannot distinguish dummy questions from ordinary questions. 5. The GMAT is a CAT (Computerized Adaptive Test) based exam. This means that you get a medium level difficulty question as your first question. If you get questions correct, you get progressively more difficult questions, and if you get questions incorrect, you get progressively easier questions.
What is covered on the GMAT math. 1. The GMAT covers up to 10th grade high school level math including geometry, algebra, and statistics. 2. Trigonometry, logarithm, and calculus are NOT within the boundary of the GMAT. Therefore, sin, cos, & tan do not appear on the exam. 3. Matrix is NOT within the boundary of the GMAT. However, there can be questions with the concept of matrix. 4. Imaginary numbers and complex numbers such as (√(-1)=i) do not appear on the GMAT. 5. Limit is NOT within the boundary of the GMAT. 6. Sequence, reversed sequence, difference sequence, and reversed function do not appear on the GMAT.